HS Football: First year coaches enjoy season openers

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, September 1, 2009

First year coaches John Peterson of Stanton and Ronnie Molina of McCamey thought they knew what to expect when they led their teams on to the football field for the first time this season.

Having been assistants most of their careers, being on the sidelines isn't new to either of them.

However, still there is something different about being the head man.

"I'll admit, I had some butterflies," Peterson said who had been an assistant for 17 seasons before this year. "But I enjoyed every moment. It was everything I expected it to be. I walked off the field with a great feeling."

However, neither new coach walked off the field with wins.

The Buffaloes gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter and lost to Grape Creek, 25-19. That came moments after Stanton had tied the game at 19.

Meanwhile, McCamey lost to Seagraves to open its season, 46-13.

Molina said he didn't feel much different when he walked out on the field as opposed to any other time he's been a coach, however he noted that it did feel a bit more special.

"It went well for me," Molina said. "It's just football. If you have players, it is simple. I've been in big games before. It was exciting to be the guy."

After spending the last month in practices and in scrimmages, both coaches noted that one of the biggest challenges they faced was getting the athletes prepared to play an actual game as opposed to scrimmages.

"Your scrimmages are controlled so much and in a game it's not," Peterson said. "It's for a longer period of time. Most of our scrimmages we did 40 plays and in a game, it's 80 plays or more. We had a great talk during the week about being prepared from the sound of the first whistle but by the third and fourth quarter, the conditioning thing takes place."

Said Molina "The kids think they're in shape, but in a game it goes up another gear. Sometimes you just don't catch up."

Despite the losses, both coaches felt good about their teams heading into Week 0, especially Peterson who said without a couple of let downs, his team could have come out on top.

"We did some great things," Peterson said. "And we did some things that we wish we could have back. I would like to have that kickoff return back."

Molina said he's not too concerned about his team's opening week loss.

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"Our coaching style isn't to make any one game make or break," Molina said. "We try to stay even keel as possible."